Politics, Politicians, Politicking
No doubt about it. Our politicians are smart. They know how to fool the voter and get elected to office. The voter is easily fooled! Take, for instance, the Regional Plan. Where is it? Hiding? Prior to elections we were promised it would be taken care of quickly, but was it? Are Goans expected to keep quiet indefinitely? Is this moral or immoral? It is neither. In the unforgettable words of the former Congress Party Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to Goans: "I do not need your votes," his sentiments it appears are unexpressed but shared by the majority of politicians in our progressive state which is rushing towards the goal of development with a level of intelligence similar to lemmings. Politicians, all over the world, are neither moral nor immoral. They are amoral. If they have to say something to achieve their goal - the means to the end - namely, the story they tell - well, it is nothing more than a story! The goals, of course, are various. For some, it is money, for others power, and still others, power and money. There is of course another group who is not interested in money but ideology. They seek power to achieve their ideological goals.To which group does your MLA belong? Almost all politicians, ideological or not, have a hidden agenda and also a hidden inferiority complex. They need the voter to feel a sense of self-worth; their egos are slavishly dependent on the voters, their followers. They learn to hide their dependence on the voter even though they humbly kiss the feet of the voter before the elections and kick his or her behind after! Hidden inferiority complexes and hidden agendas provide an accurate enough description of the behavior of politicians everywhere. Great speeches and assurances aside. A study of the history of Goa's Regional Plan is interesting, and reveals a lot. Deputy CM Francis D'Sousa says the plan has to be in place by 2017. Why? Is it a lucky number? He says the process will start in January of next year. But when will it end, when will it be notified? Meanwhile, the government is in the process of building wide roads - 10 metre and even 20 metre roads - through our villages! Machiavellian brilliance? Goans are a confused people today. Earlier, the Congress Party tried to sell them a make-believe heaven which resembled hell more than anything else, and this political party was deservedly rubbished, to be replaced by another which promised to undo all the wrongs created by the evil party of looters under the garb of secularism. Today, unfortunately, the two appear to be similar with regard to their goals, and for this reason Goans are confused and dizzy because of the U-turn on several major issues. Broken promises! Will Goans achieve the Special Status which Mathany Saldhana was fighting for single-mindedly for the last two years of his life only after a lot of Goa's land is no longer in Goan hands? The major issue today in Goa, more than the garbage mess which is becoming synonymous as well as an icon of this government, is the aberration of an international airport which the government stubbornly insists is something we need even after two expert committees have declared it cannot be viable without the closing down of Dabolim airport which is expected to collapse on its own weight. And, as if this is not enough, a golf course is on the way, in an until now beautiful Goan village with a small population which will deplete further the available water resources in a state where there is already a shortage of water. Not to ignore the chemicals and the poisoning of the land which go together like a Romeo and Juliet tragedy. Add a 76-crore bridge for this village which already has a bridge for a very small population but which the government claims is necessary! All this makes no sense to anyone except the government. Unless Goans actively protest the arbitrary taking over of their villages in the name of development, the ground from under their feet might well disappear along with their villages. Development, of course, means more often than not their own personal bank account development! Other than this explanation or the world is made of coconut chutney, nothing makes sense! Is the art of governance simply a matter of having power and doing whatever one likes simply because it has the power? If one has political connections does it mean procedural matters and the law are unimportant with regard to major projects? Are only people who do not have the necessary connections expected to follow the rules? Does the public have to shut up, and the government will listen up only at the time of elections? If the government does not show respect for proper procedure and the law, is this a good model for the State? And Goan society? If the BJP government would like to continue for another term and keep the sacred trust of the people until the next election then upholding the law and having respect for proper procedure and consensus are important and have a value beyond election slogans. As the stakes are high, there cannot be enough emphasis on the importance of proper procedure and law. Do we need to rush through every mega project at an accelerated speed, faster than an airplane? First acquire land, then get environmental clearances, and that sort of thing. Bury farmers' interests under a pile of concrete and call it development? The Congress Party tried to hoodwink the public and was voted out, and then the BJP came in, and will it in future meet the same fate and be voted out? At the moment Goans are confused but this confusion might change to anger. It will be a tragedy as the BJP has done some good deeds! Media reports inform us only 15 of the 189 Panchayats are against the Regional Plan. Good news or bad? Deputy CM appears to be moving in the right direction, I believe. Will he reveal the names of the 15 Panchayats soon? A lot of questions remain to be answered. Offhand, are wide roads a separate category, and not a part of the Regional Plan? Is there no connection between the size of roads and buildings? What, then, is the government's definition of planning and land use? More than two and a half years have passed since this government has come to power, more than half the term is over! It is time for the Goa government to speak in one voice, with a straight and not a forked tongue. Goans are anxiously waiting to know about the future plans of their state. After wide roads have become a reality, and our villages cease to look like villages, then what can we do? Are the people of Goa expected to sit down and do nothing when the government is going to build wide roads through Goan villages which are really a blueprint for towns? Does the government expect Goans to celebrate the death of their villages? After wide roads and two mega garbage plants, one for the north and the other for the south are there for all to see who will be able to object to big buildings in our so-called villages? Will the MLAs then challenge the so-called villagers to provide a single reasonable objection to having big buildings as the roads are wide enough and there is no garbage problem? appeared in Gomantak Times 13, Dec
